The Role Of Critical Professional Development In Transforming The Teaching And Learning Practices Of White Faculty: Elevating Racial Consciousness To Center Equity, Kaitlyn E. Siner-Cappas

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of white faculty participants in a critical professional development (CPD) program that seeks to enhance racial consciousness at a public research university. The goal of the study was to understand any perceived changes in faculty positionality and teaching and learning practices following their participation in the program, as well as identify the extent to which the program supported participants in a journey towards enhanced racial consciousness.

Four themes characterized the experiences of faculty participants in this CPD program: 1) experiencing the benefits of a learning community, 2) gaining confidence in …

Redefined: Understanding The Experience Of Black Joy Among Black Youth, Kaela A. Yamini

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The study of Black joy is a newer concept and, therefore, reflected in a small but growing body of literature. Many scholars have reflected on the theoretical nature of Black joy and how it can appear across settings, e.g., academically, occupationally, communally, and internally, but very few studies have examined this phenomenon empirically. Several definitions of Black joy have emerged in connection to history and suffering; however, there is still a notable lack of agreement among researchers. Despite that, all conceptualizations acknowledge how this emotional experience is much greater than the pain associated with it and highlight its ability …

“Nothing About Us Without Us”: Examining Sense Of Belonging And College Success Through The Experiences Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Courtney E. Mulligan

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Sense of belonging has become an increasingly important indicator of student engagement, persistence, and success in higher education. Despite this, limited research has explored how college students with autism experience and define belonging while at college. As increasing numbers of students with autism pursue postsecondary education, institutions face a growing need to better understand the factors that influence student experiences and outcomes. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the experiences of sense of belonging among current college students with autism and identify the factors that contribute positively or negatively to this experience to inform more inclusive higher …

The Negotiated Identities Of Refugee-Background Women During Resettlement, Iuliia Fakhrutdinova

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Refugee-background women experience unique challenges while resettling in the U.S. as they navigate complicated transnational gender roles, education gaps, migration trauma, learning a new language, and literacy in the adaptation process during resettlement, which can derail the productive paths they are on. Therefore, ignoring refugee-background women’s unique experiences and failing to understand their identities prevents our society from doing social justice and creating a space for a smooth adaptation to the new context. Language plays a paramount role in identity formation, as it moves away from the belief that identity is an essential concept. For refugee-background women during resettlement, their …

Social Experiences Of Chinese International Students At A Us Liberal Arts College, Ke Yao

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study provided detailed empirical evidence on social experiences of Chinese international students within a US liberal arts college context through examining their race, culture, gender, social class, and mental health experiences. This study showed that the experiences of Chinese international students in the US higher education institutions are influenced not only by individual adaptation but also by broader social and institutional contexts. First, findings of this study demonstrated that institutional features of liberal arts colleges, such as small campus environment, residential nature, and more interactive opportunities between domestic and Chinese international students, can simultaneously create opportunities for inclusion and …

A Discursive Analysis Of Lesbian And Queer Experiences Of Unwanted Consensual Sex, Sarah E. Swanson

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study drew on a critical discursive psychology (CDP) analytical approach to examine how lesbian and queer participants made sense of unwanted consensual sex (UCS).  The data analysis traced how UCS was constructed on three discursive levels: the construction of UCS across narratives, the interpretive repertoires mobilized (including sexual scripts), and the broader sociocultural discourses that shaped what elements of their experiences were intelligible. Therefore, I sought to understand both how participants drew on familiar heteronormative and queer ways of talking about sex and how various discursive resources shaped how they could construct themselves and others. Data for this research …

Factorial Structure Of A Bilingual Progress Monitoring Tool For Mindfulness Interventions, Andrea V. Molina Palacios

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are an increasingly popular option for schools to support youth in each of the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). MBIs have proven to increase attention, help with emotion regulation, decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression, and overall increase students’ wellbeing with a cost-effective package that makes it affordable for schools to implement. Moreover, MBIs have also proven to be effective for Hispanic youth who are at a higher risk of experiencing low access to mental health care and higher levels of poverty, which puts them at risk for dropping out and having low academic achievement. However, there …

“School’S Not For Me. I Don't Belong In School.”: Students With Dis/Abilities’ Perspectives On Special Education During State Intervention, Leila E. Parks

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study presents the lived experiences of 10 racialized teens with dis/abilities who received special education services in the Boston Public Schools during state intervention. As a youth participatory action research collective, the young people in the study’s Youth with Dis/Abilities Research Group explored issues of inclusion and exclusion, ableism, racism, and safety at school. The project was framed by dis/ability critical race studies, incorporating aspects of critical race theory and disability studies in education. Based on stories expressed through free-writes, poetry, drawings, interviews, and group conversations, the racialized teens with dis/abilities shared negative school experiences overall. Though most …

Solving For X: Centering Black Girls’ Experiences In Mathematics Education, Natasha A. Fortes

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Black girls can grow up, attend school, and move through their math classes without ever feeling seen as capable mathematical thinkers. Their teachers may not affirm their brilliance. Their voices may even go unheard. Math classes may not be a space where they can imagine themselves belonging. These experiences do not reflect ability. Instead, they reflect on the conditions in which they are expected to learn. This study centers the voices of Black girls and asks what they deserve from their mathematics education and instructors to develop a mathematics identity. The study is grounded in Black feminist traditions and draws …

The Impact Of Childhood Adversity On Students In Urban Public Elementary Schools: Recognizing, Responding, And Implementing Interventions To Support Struggling Students Through In-Depth Conversations With School Leaders, Stephen Shaw-Lyon

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

THE IMPACT OF CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY ON STUDENTS IN URBAN PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: RECOGNIZING, RESPONDING, AND IMPLEMENTING INTERVENTIONS TO SUPPORT STRUGGLING STUDENTS THROUGH IN-DEPTH CONVERSATIONS WITH SCHOOL LEADERS

August 2026

Stephen P. Shaw-Lyon, A.A., Massasoit Community College

B.A., Arizona State University

M.Ed., Fitchburg State University

C.A.G.S., Bridgewater State University

Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Boston

Directed by Assistant Professor Bodunrin Banwo

This dissertation explores how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect students in urban public elementary schools in Massachusetts. While the original ACE Study reshaped understanding of adult health outcomes, less research examines how trauma influences children’s academic, behavioral, and social experiences in …

Understanding Factors Influencing Multiple Tobacco Product Use Among Adolescents In Thailand: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach, Chaowalit Srisoem

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Tobacco use among Thai adolescents is shaped by personal, environmental, and product-related factors. However, the pathways linking these influences to actual behavior remain unclear. This study examined how personal, environmental, and product-related factors, along with intentions to use, relate to tobacco use among Thai adolescents. A cross-sectional secondary analysis was conducted using data from the 2022 Thailand Global Youth Tobacco Survey of 6,235 students aged 13–15 years. Survey weights methods were applied to produce nationally representative estimates. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling assessed latent constructs, and multinomial logistic regression examined predictors of single, dual, and multiple product use. …

The Difficulty In Defining The Construct Of Perseverance, Davon W. Ferrara, Linda W. Jones

Papers

Perseverance is a character virtue necessary for flourishing in the STEM disciplines; however, there are competing definitions of perseverance in scientific literature, which makes measuring the trait and researching its impact difficult. This work provides a review of the definitions of construct found within the literature and compares it to conflated terms such as grit, persistence, resilience, and self-efficacy that have related, but distinct meanings. Finally, we summarize the role of perseverance in STEM and what factors may influence its formation.

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Belmont Formation Collaborative and the Formation Scholars Cohort for Character Research and …

The Difficulty In Defining The Construct Of Perseverance, Davon W. Ferrara, Linda Jones

Posters

Perseverance is a character virtue necessary for flourishing in the STEM disciplines; however, there are competing definitions of perseverance in scientific literature, which makes measuring the trait and researching its impact difficult. This work provides a review of the definitions of construct found within the literature and compares it to conflated terms such as grit, persistence, resilience, and self-efficacy that have related, but distinct meanings. Finally, we summarize the role of perseverance in STEM and what factors may influence its formation.

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Belmont Formation Collaborative and the Formation Scholars Cohort for Character Research and …

Writing Together, Writing Differently: Collective Authorship As Reflective Practice, Thanh Thao Le, Trut Thuy Pham

The Qualitative Report

This article examines collective authorship as a reflective and ethical research practice within a sustained program of co-authored qualitative, post-qualitative, linguistic, and reflective inquiries into teacher reflection, professional learning, language, silence, and recognition. It offers an oral-history-informed reflective methodological account of a writing collective and asks how collective authorship became a methodological practice through our collaborative writing process. The primary materials were shared drafts, margin comments, revisions, silences, version histories, short reflective notes, and remembered writing encounters. Teacher-reflection texts and related professional writing materials from our broader research program formed the secondary materials around which the writing process unfolded. Analytically, …

Leading Change In Healthcare: Building Systems, Retaining Nurses, And Creating Healthy Workplaces, Kaynabess Freda, Lisa A. Seldomridge, Crystal Devance-Wilson, Kimberly Hampton, Abigail Johnson

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Nurse retention remains a significant international challenge, especially in acute care hospitals where workplace culture, belonging, and professional growth strongly influence retention (Lal, 2024; NursingSolutions, Inc., 2024). The need for effective retention strategies is amplified by factors such as the limited supply of experienced nurses causing hiring delays, declining enrollment in nursing programs, and an aging nursing workforce (AACN, 2024; WHO, 2025).

This presentation shares results from a collaboration among the Maryland Nursing Workforce Center, Lead Nursing Forward, and the Maryland Action Coalition to assess retention strategies in acute care hospitals. Two surveys were developed using the six Nurse Staffing …

Women In The Criminal Justice Pipeline: Perspectives From Policy To Practice, Laila Riaz

Student Theses

The study of the criminal justice system has historically been shaped by a male-centered perspective. Consequently, this has marginalized the unique experiences and challenges faced by women. Women are disproportionately affected by issues such as trauma, caregiving responsibilities, and systemic inequalities, shaping their interactions with the criminal justice system in ways that differ from men. This study examines how women experience the pipeline of the criminal justice system. The “pipeline” refers to the stages of the criminal justice system, ranging from an initial encounter with law enforcement to prosecution, incarceration, and eventual reentry into society. Drawing on interviews with academics …

How Do Governments Combat Jihad Online?, Noah Cook

Honors College Theses

Since the September 11th, 2001 attacks, jihadist groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda, and al-Shabaab have used the internet as a tool for recruitment, radicalization, and propaganda dissemination. Since then, governments, non-governmental organizations, and private companies have developed strategies to combat jihadism on the internet. This paper examines how these actors have worked to mitigate the digital jihadist footprint and its effects by analyzing three main approaches to countering violent Islamist extremism on the internet: counter narrative initiatives, awareness-raising programs, and content removals. This paper finds that each of these methods has its own strengths and weaknesses. Counter narrative campaigns show the …

The Impact Of Inclusive Leadership And Leader Cultural Intelligence On The Work Engagement Of Migrant Employees, Dena Semonia Whittle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With the rise of globalization and the growing demand for skilled workers, the number of foreign-born employees in the American workforce has grown significantly over the last 20 years. These numbers continue to grow, as the upward trend of foreign-born employees has been even more significant over the last 5 years. However, despite having a now more diverse workforce, there are still signs of discrimination and unequal treatment of migrants in the workplace. Such mistreatment has been linked to health-related, occupational, and psychological consequences and has been negatively associated with work engagement. The purpose of this quantitative study was to …

Psychosocial And Functional Impact Of Temporomandibular Disorder Subtypes Among Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study In Indonesia, Ni Luh Dewi, Wita Anggraini, Maria Valiente-Lopez, Carolina Marpaung

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Background: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) affect psychological, functional, and pain-related aspects of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). However, the differential impact of pain-related and non-pain-related TMDs remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of different TMD subtypes on psychological distress, jaw function, and OHRQoL in young adults and to determine whether pain-related TMDs exert a greater effect than non-pain-related TMDs.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 278 university students (aged 18–24 years) were categorized into no TMD (NT), pain-related TMD (PT), intra-articular TMD (IT), and combined TMD (CT). Diagnoses were made using the 5Ts Questionnaire screening tool …

Investigation Of Patients' Use Of Non-Pharmacological Substances In Dental Pain Management, Neslihan Yılmaz Çırakoğlu, Özgenur Kaya

Journal of Dentistry Indonesia

Background: Dental pain is a complex condition influenced by biological, biochemical, environmental, and psychological factors. Before seeking professional care, many patients attempt to relieve dental pain using self-administered, non-medical agents. This study aimed to investigate patients’ use of non-pharmacological substances in dental pain management and to identify factors influencing these practices.

Methods: The questionnaire consisted of four sections addressing demographic characteristics, oral hygiene habits, pain characteristics, and pain-relief agents. Categorical variables were analyzed using Pearson’s chi-square test. Categorical data are presented as frequencies and percentages, while continuous data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation and median values. …

The Correlation Between Medication Adherence, Blood Glucose Levels, And Quality Of Life In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus At Ciamis Regional Hospital, Amyla Putri Nurul Nazmi, Nur Rahayuningsih, Lusi N

Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy Research

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition requiring continuous treatment, including patient adherence to prescribed medication. This study aimed to explore the relationship between medication adherence, blood glucose levels, and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus at Ciamis Regional Hospital, conducted from January to March 2025, the research employed a quantitative, prospective cross-sectional design involving 49 hospitalized patients. Data included blood glucose levels (RPG, FPG, 2hPG), medication adherence measured using the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5), and quality of life assessed via the Diabetes Quality of Life-Brief Clinical Inventory (DQOL-BCI). The chi-square test was used …

Alexithymia In Substance Use Disorders: A Scoping Review Of Therapeutic Approaches, Pratami Diah Herliani, Shelly Iskandar, Angela Vera Herman Efendi

Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy Research

Alexithymia, defined as the inability to recognize and express emotions, has a high prevalence (40–50%) among individuals with substance use disorders (SUD), particularly alcohol use disorder, and is associated with poorer clinical outcomes. Despite this, comprehensive mapping of psychotherapeutic interventions targeting this condition within the SUD population remains limited. This study aimed to systematically map the therapeutic approaches investigated to address alexithymia among individuals with substance use disorders and to summarize the reported outcomes. A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines using systematic literature searches in the PubMed and Scopus databases. Relevant studies were screened based …

Spiraling Up, Spiraling Down: A Multi-Level Study Of Social Value Creation And Community Capitals In A Mexican Social Enterprise, Karla M. Corres Luna

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how a social enterprise creates social value and, through the same intervention, erodes it in the communities it serves. Research on social entrepreneurship has theorized value largely from the organizational viewpoint, measured it at a single point in time, and rested on an unexamined aggregation assumption: that gains delivered to individual households sum into well-being at the level of the community. This study holds that assumption up to community-level, participant-centered evidence. Through three qualitative studies of a participatory housing model implemented by a social enterprise in two informal settlements in Querétaro, México, it analyzes social value creation …

A Statistical Mechanics Approach To Reinforcement Learning, Jacob Adamczyk

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Reinforcement learning (RL), the study of optimal decision-making over long timescales in stochastic systems, has recently seen remarkable advances due in large part to the efforts of the deep learning community. RL has witnessed great success in solving problems in video games, robotics, biological control, and language modeling. However, a unified statistical mechanics framework to understand and develop the corresponding algorithms is lacking. To address this issue, we begin by showing that the reinforcement learning problem can be formulated and solved using the tools of statistical mechanics. Drawing on physical principles of free energy minimization and invariance, we address important …

Identifying Discrete Reappraisals And Examining The Properties Of Cognitive Reappraisal That Predict Emotional Outcomes, Jenny L. Wu

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Cognitive reappraisal is widely regarded as an adaptive emotion regulation strategy and a central strategy to promote cognitive change in psychological treatments. However, findings regarding its effectiveness have been inconsistent, potentially due to the tendency to conceptualize reappraisal as a uniform process. The present study sought to adopt a more fine-grained, process-oriented approach by examining variability in how reappraisal is implemented. Specifically, this study investigated (1) the overall effectiveness of cognitive reappraisal, (2) whether the perceived believability of reappraisals predicts emotional outcomes, and (3) whether different types of reappraisals are associated with differences in emotional outcomes. Participants completed a modified …

I Must Be Well, To Do Well: Examining The Relationship Between Toxic Stem Environments, Trauma, Stem Support, And Academic Outcomes Among Diverse Graduate Women In Stem, Aisha Farra

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Women, particularly Women of Colour (WOC), remain underrepresented in STEM. In the last two decades, research has sought to better understand women’s experiences in STEM, highlighting challenges such as isolation, sexism, and racism, which negatively impact mental health and STEM persistence. While these mental health challenges have been documented, further work is needed to examine how these experiences are related to trauma symptoms and physical health outcomes, as well as the mechanisms through which they shape academic outcomes. This quantitative study investigated the relationships among toxic STEM experiences (i.e., gendered racism, sexism, and isolation), trauma symptoms and physical health concerns, …

Home, Neighborhood, And Community Environments And Social Isolation In Later Life: Joint Associations And Their Moderation By Life-Course Socioeconomic Mobility, Jeein Law

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Social isolation is a major public health concern among older adults, yet less is known about how multilevel residential environments shape isolation among those aging in place. Guided by the Socio-Ecological Model, Person–Environment Fit, and a life-course perspective, this dissertation examined whether micro-level home hazards, meso-level neighborhood social cohesion and physical disorder, and macro-level census-tract structural conditions were associated with social isolation. It also examined whether life-course socioeconomic mobility moderated the associations between home and neighborhood environments and social isolation.

This dissertation used two nationally representative longitudinal studies of U.S. older adults. Aims 1 and 2 used the National Health …

Revictimization Of Female Sexual Assault Survivors During Cross-Examination From The Perspective Of Criminal Prosecutors, Robyn Fuchs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual assault is a heinous crime that remains one of the most underreported crimes. Victims of sexual assault face scrutiny for reporting and may be revictimized by the process. The intent of this study was to examine how cross-examination has the potential to revictimize female sexual assault survivors from the perspective of criminal prosecutors. This study may provide insight on whether defense attorneys intentionally cause harm to victims or if there is an automatic level of trauma in testifying. Ten interviews were conducted with criminal prosecutors across the United States. After the interviews, the transcripts were manually analyzed to identify …

Fashion, Lifestyle, And Symbolic Capital: Identity And Resistance In Eka Kurniawan’S Beauty Is A Wound, Dewi Meyrasyawati, Cysakaren Diva Pratiwi, Nisar Ul-Haq

Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya

This study examines how fashion culture and lifestyle, understood as modes of self presentation, social performance, and everyday practice, operate as tools of identity construction and resistance in Eka Kurniawan’s Beauty Is a Wound. The objective is to reveal how beauty, personal choices, and public perception function as symbolic capital in negotiating gendered power relations, class hierarchies, and political constraints. Using close textual analysis, the research explores how female characters, particularly Dewi Ayu, mobilize appearance, behavior, and life decisions to challenge dominant ideologies and redefine their roles in society. The findings show that fashion culture in the novel extends beyond …

Lanthorn, Vol. 61, No. 02, August 31, 2026, Grand Valley State University

Volume 61, August 10, 2026 – current

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.